Monthly Archives: March 2010

On a sunny January day, I was going to go hiking on Enkaizan. Well, I made it to Enkaizan, but I didn’t do any hiking. However, I did get some nice pictures from this very small mountain.

Enkaizan is a small mountain or big hill in Yokohama, mostly in Isogo Ward. However, to get there, I walked from Konandai Station in Konan Ward. This is the nearest station to Enkaizan. Normally, you can hike from Enkaizan to the Ten-en Hiking Trail in Kamakura. However, I didn’t see the entrance of the hiking trail, so I didn’t actually get to do that. On the way back from where I was, I saw the entrance, but it was a bit late to start a hike anyway.

What I did see was a nice view, Gonenji Temple, and a cemetery. So, enjoy the pictures!

On the walk up to Enkaizan, I could see this view of Konandai.

The sign on the left is pointing the way to Enkaizan.

This road goes toward the cemetery on Enkaizan.

There's a big bamboo forest on Enkaizan.

Now I'm looking up the road toward the temple.

Here is Gonenji on Enkaizan.

This is the temple bell. There's a small stairway that leads up to it from the main temple.

Here is a view of Yokohama, mainly the port area, from near the cemetery on Enkaizan.

The air isn't very clear, but you can see Landmark Tower and Minato Mirai from Enkaizan.

There's some green on Enkaizan in the middle of winter.

Here’s a map of the area. The peak is to the left, while the temple is in the centre. The cemetery is toward the right side.

The city of Kamakura is built around Tsurugaoka Hachimangu and its 1.8 km approach, Wakamiya Oji. Wakamiya Oji is the main street of the city that runs from the shrine down to Yuigahama Beach. It was built in 1182 during the Kamakura Period, when Kamakura was the capital of Japan. It was originally very sacred, with only a privileged few allowed to walk down it. These days, it’s a very busy street. Down this stretch of road, there are 3 gates or Torii. Ichi no Torii (First gate) is the farthest from the shrine. Ni no Torii (Second gate) is at the entrance of the dankazura, which runs the rest of the way to the shrine. The dankazura is lined on both sides by cherry trees. Finally is San no Torii (Third gate), which is at the main entrance of the shrine. For a full history, please read the Wikipedia entry.

This is the Ni no Torii, the second gate on Wakamiya Oji. The second gate is the entrance to the dankazura, which is a pathway lined with cherry trees.

Here's a view down the dankazura, a bit closer to Tsurugaoka Hachimangu. During late March and early April, these trees are covered by cherry blossoms.

Almost at the end of the dankazura, San no Torii (third gate) can be seen.

This is San no Torii. It's at the main entrance of Tsurugaoka Hachimangu. The main building can be seen in the distance.

In this map, the shrine is at the top, at the northern end of the main road in yellow. Wakamiya Oji continues southward all the way to the beach. The area in this map is shown in the above photos.